Cotton Sweater to Baby Wash Cloth

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I had some pieces of an old cotton knit sweater lying around… and by pieces, I mean the back of the sweater and an arm. I have no idea what happened to the rest of it!

Anyway, I thought they would make lovely baby wash cloths. The knit has gotten soft and absorbent after lots of washes…perfect for wash cloths. I had a scrap of flannelette laying about, so this was an easy project to put together. You’ve gotta love a bit of stash busting/upcycling!

To start off, I cut out squares from the sweater. I made them about 25cm (10″) square. I used the ribbing from the bottom of the back piece on one of them. It adds a bit of texture to the finished cloth.

Next, I overlocked/serged one raw edge of the sweater pieces. I did this to secure the knitting so that it doesn’t come undone when turning the cloth the right way out.

Pin a piece of flannelette to the sweater, right sides facing. I rounded off the corners with the rotary cutter.

Stitch around the edge, leaving an opening about 5cm (2″) for turning. Make sure the opening is on the side of the sweater that you stitched earlier. I overlocked/serged around the edge, but I think a wide zigzag would work too. You want to make sure the knitting is secure so that the cloth doesn’t unravel over time.

Turn right side out and fold the edges of the opening in and pin shut. Topstitch around the edge, closing the opening as you go.